


285

by awkwardedgeworth



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, M/M, akaashi reminiscing about high school volleyball on a train, with no food
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:02:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21931141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkwardedgeworth/pseuds/awkwardedgeworth
Summary: The soundtrack of his life summed up in those few bursts of pitches brings upon a wave of memories like a large wave crashing down, filled with orange bursts of sunshine and the salty tang of half frozen Pocari Sweat in his mouth prepared by the rotating managers in Fukurodani.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 5
Kudos: 54





	285

**Author's Note:**

> -looks at cue cards, looks at computer- uh idk where this came from but to those travelling back to their families during this holiday season, please have a safe trip home!

_"One touch!"_

Akaashi adjusts his earbuds as he enters the shinkansen, going to his reserved seat and pushing his small carry-on until it bumps against the side of the cart. He jams his frozen legs into the area designed as his and ignores when his neighbour's suitcases squeezes against his kneecap uncomfortably. He can only go so far in being comfortable in the last green car seat right before the holidays.

His knee shake up and down, a slow tempo picking up pace until he consciously has to lower his leg down and direct his anxiety somewhere else. 

_"This shinkansen heading towards Tokyo is seven minutes behind schedule and will be leaving Shin-Osaka station shortly. We will be waiting for three more minutes for local passengers to connect to this train due to the weather interruptions occurring in other parts of the country. Again, this train will be leaving Shin-Osaka shortly, and will be heading towards Tokyo. We apologize for any inconvenience in your busy day."_

"Mao-chan, have you seen my pen? I think it's between our seats and under your jacket..."

"—delayed for three minutes from Shin-Osaka, what are they saying about the train from Nagoya? It has to be adjusted right?"

"—go first and I'll eat dinner at my transfer stop... Yeah, I'll meet you all somewhere after dinner around Asakusa.... Mmm, bye."

Akaashi crosses his arms across his chest and flimsy backpack, stomach growling from the smell of conbini food around him. All he's had today was his in-flight meal served five hours ago. He could have gotten food at the airport but he didn't want to risk long line ups and miss this train. His knee twinges periodically as the train shuts its doors with a hiss and the city landscape of Osaka disappears in a flurry of lights and snow.

"It's the worst snow storm of the century, of course it has to hit right on the day of my flight."

A passenger nearby voices his thoughts out loud into her phone, the train lights catching her festive nails as she holds the cord of her ear buds to her mouth. It was a poor attempt of blending in, how her clothes screams foreigner, much more than her English accent. He remembers now. She sat a row in front of him on the plane, no wonder he's attuned to her voice.

He looks away before they meet eyes, _"Alright, alright, alright!"_ A loud smack, whistle, roars of the crowd.

He hides a smile against the collar of his zipped up winter jacket, leaning on his right side as his head rests against the humming train travelling at high speeds in the countryside, heading towards home. The soundtrack of his life summed up in those few bursts of pitches brings upon a wave of memories like a large wave crashing down.

His high school years were the best highlight reels of his life, filled with orange bursts of sunshine, the salty tang of half frozen Pocari Sweat in his mouth, prepared by the rotating managers in Fukurodani. Mysteriously, the twinging pain in his knee always disappears when he thinks of those times.

The girls sitting in front of him find their pen. The businessman worried about time chews quietly on his cold conbini bento, chopsticks rapidly going from tray to mouth. Akaashi would kill for a grain of rice right now, and he digs around his bag, looking for old candies that he's sure he shoved in his schoolbag once sometime during the semester when he was studying music from a cold, distant land. 

Four month old chocolate covered almonds and a very squished granola bar are unearthed from his dig. He lets the chocolate melt in his mouth before chewing on them, the crunch overpowering the commentary of the game.

_"A cross spike at this time of the game and it cleanly goes past the Panasonic Panthers! The crowd goes wild!!!!"_

The roars of the crowd is heard over his crunching. Oddly, whenever he hears that type of shouts, he's transported to a simpler time and a memory of yelling at his teammate, arms up in the air, palms meeting sweaty jerseys as they gather in a tight ball. He remembers callouses on his hands, the tightness of sports tape on his fingers, the squeak of shoes on wood and compares them to the gentle rattle of the shinkansen.

It would be nice to be able to watching his playlist on the big screen of his part time job in the movie theater. After Akaashi dutifully sweeps popcorn and other empty, fallen cups into his garbage bin, he sits on the cushy chairs and allows himself to breathe. It's an escape from his home, which consists of exactly one kotatsu imported from Japan that acts as his bed, dining table and study space. 

_"And another clean cross from Bokuto Koutarou of the Black Jackals! Black Jackals win 2-1!"_

People shuffle past the aisle to get off at Kyoto Station, the announcements playing above about how delayed they are due to the biggest unexpected snowstorm on the half of Japan that normally doesn't get snow. Akaashi goes abroad for a semester and brings the bad weather back with him. Washio and Komi are blowing up his phone with incessant groans about his luck dumping a magical three feet of snow over the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan area like the city has never seen before.

He rises from his seat, asks his neighbour if he could move her legs out of the way, and hops off the train. The winter air whistles down in his throat, crisp. It's like biting into watermelon that's been sitting in the fridge after a relentless day in the sun, fresh.

He stabs the button for corn soup and coffee, waving his Suica card and bringing his goods back onto the train. Several people look up with interest and hop off, asking the conductor to give them a warning as they swarm to the hot vending machines, bees to pollen.

Warm and caffeinated, he falls into a hazy dream state where he listens to the train announcements, hurling towards Tokyo at the speed of two hundred and eighty-five kilometers per hour. He also listens to Bokuto's post-game interviews, all the way from his very first ones after he got scouted into the Black Jackals and to the most recent one.

Oranges and yellows dance beneath his eyelids at Bokuto's voice. He smiles under the high collar of his jacket, crossing his arms further as he slouches in his chair. He's sixteen and lying on his back, grass tickling the exposed skin of his calves and forearms, Bokuto chattering away about squirrels and seeds as Akaashi dozes in and out, a food coma in session as the barbecue comes to a close. He'd almost forgotten what colors were, abroad and faraway from his friends and family.

He falls asleep, the sounds of volleyballs hitting the floor, cheers fading into silence, one hand crossed holding the strap of his backpack and the other holding onto his phone.

_"Tokyo, Tokyo. Tokyo Station. Would all passengers please watch their steps on the platform. Thank you for riding with the JR Group, we wish you a safe travel home and thank you for your patience."_

He finds him easily in the crowds, hanging back against the crowds as Bokuto beams like a miniature sun.

"Akaashi!"

Akaashi takes a half step and falls into his place, surrounded by sun and warmth, grinning.

("Bokuto, stop eating all the meat! Akaashi barely had any!"

"But Konoha! I'm hungry you know, I haven't ate anything since five and I did forty laps of diving seals!"

_Thonk_. "Your boyfriend hasn't had anything since his flight was rerouted to Osaka! ...That's the spirit, Captain. We need to feed our baby owl— something funny, Akaashi?"

A pair of earbuds is placed lovingly in its case, zipped away, "No, it's just good to be back.")


End file.
